Panasonic RC-7053 Works Fast

[AntonM]

Hello, all! Thank you for accepting me into your forum. I’m in Europe and I finally got to order my dream flip clock from the US - a Panasonic RC-7053. My dad is great at repairing old audio systems and general vintage tech so he cleaned it and changed my bulbs. He also ordered an adapter for 110 to 220 power from LiteFuze and everything on the clock works great. I love waking up to the radio accompanied by that subtle buzz from the speakers but the problem is, I’m being woken up 15 minutes earlier than usual because the clock runs fast. Yesterday, when I set it, it worked fine for hours and then suddenly it was 3 minutes fast. Right now it runs great and I count exactly 58.77 seconds between flips but that can’t possibly be enough of a difference to become 12-15 minutes fast in half a day. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you in advance.

[Johan de Jong]

Likely the problem is that your power converter does not keep 60Hz accurately enough. The converters by Kens Clock Clinic are very accurate and often recommended. See also this post: https://www.flipclockfans.com/forum/...our-flip-clock

BTW your measurement does perfectly match 15 minutes in half a day
gain each minute: 60 - 58.77 = 1.23 seconds
gain in half a day: 1.23 * 60 *12 / 60 = 14.76 minutes

[AntonM]

Likely the problem is that your power converter does not keep 60Hz accurately enough. The converters by Kens Clock Clinic are very accurate and often recommended. See also this post: https://www.flipclockfans.com/forum/...our-flip-clock

BTW your measurement does perfectly match 15 minutes in half a day
gain each minute: 60 - 58.77 = 1.23 seconds
gain in half a day: 1.23 * 60 *12 / 60 = 14.76 minutes

You’re completely right! Thank you very much. Unfortunately, this is all we could find here in Europe. I’ll look more extensively for the one you mentioned. What I thought the problem is is that these things are radio-controlled and since it’s in Europe, it’s not getting the US signal. Could that possibly be the problem? Thank you again, Johan.

[Johan de Jong]

No they are not radio controlled. That would be very hard to implement, at least in the modern digital way ;-)
Usually these clocks are driven by a synchronous motor that a is directly fed by the mains power supply. Its speed is solely determined by the mains frequency (50 or 60 Hz).

You can buy the KCC converter from their website and ship to Europe, but it is rather costly: 70 USD for shipping plus the 200 USD for the converter itself.

This is a cheaper alternative from the UK but I have no idea about the quality: https://www.electric-clocks.co.uk/Fr...cyconvert.html

[AntonM]

Thank you! I was just looking for a way to buy the KCC converter and they really are expensive. I was just logging on to ask if you know of a cheaper option but you read my mind! I can’t wait to have my clock up and running!